Favorite Soap Opera Couples

8/20/2008 2:15pm EDT

Share

Google

Tweet

Pin it

Comment

Viewers don't just follow romances in film and primetime, they watch every day to see what's going on between their favorite soap opera couples. Soap operas have some of the most die hard and loyal fan bases around.

We polled several die hard soap fans about their favorite couples in soaps. Luke & Laura, Greenlee & Leo and Jessica & Nash were just a few couples on the top of their favorites list. Here is a look at some of the favorite soap opera couples from the past and the present:

Susan Lucci has been playing Erica Kane, the most popular character in soap opera history, since the show made its debut in 1970. Erica is most known for all the many, and we mean many, marriages. But there was one man that was perfect for her. She knew it, and we knew it. And that man was Jackson "Jack" Montgomery.

After many years, Jack and Erica finally tied the knot on May 24, 2005, in a beautiful ceremony. Like many of Erica's marriages, this one started to fall apart. They eventually divorced, and Erica even turned it into her own reality show where she tried to win Jack back. It worked, but it looks like there may be a new man in Erica's life. A certain Senator perhaps?

Greenlee Smythe & Leo du Pres
Personally, we'd like to imagine that Leo is still alive somewhere with amnesia. For those who think we're crazy, two things: They never found the body, and this is a soap opera. If Jesse Hubbard can come back from the dead than so can Leo.

Greenlee & Leo first teamed up because she wanted an excuse to be with Ryan. After Leo was arrested for supposedly killing Paolo, Greenlee bailed him out. They ended up making love on the Wave Set after Ryan blew her off. Of course, they both claimed it meant nothing. Once Leo found out his mother killed Paolo, Greenlee was there for him. They were both locked into the wine cellar where Ryan caught them both making out. To get back at Ryan she "pretended" that she was interested in Leo. A scheme to get Ryan went bad, and she and Leo were stranded on an island where he confessed his love to Greenlee.

Jonathan Lavery & Lilly Montgomery
The title for the most adorable couple would have to go to Jonathan Lavery and Lilly Montgomery. Jonathan was a horrible person; he killed Edmund, poisoned Greenlee and abused Maggie. After his brother Ryan and sister Erin admitted him to the hospital, they learned that he had a large brain tumor, which was deemed responsible for all his horrible actions. During the time he was recovering he befriends Lilly, who is autistic and they formed a great friendship.

Eventually their friendship turned to love, which made her father Jack extremely unhappy. He told Lilly she could never be with Jonathan, and she had no choice but to run away to New York. Since Lilly was 18, she decided to marry Jonathan while they were in New York.

Weeks later Jonathan had a seizure, and it restored all of his adult faculties. He kept this a secret so Lilly didn't feel alone. Jack declared Lilly mentally incompetent, and Jonathan had to tell Lilly his secret. She was upset and decided to divorce him.

Tad Martin and Dixie Cooney
The pairing of Tad and Dixie became the most prominent soap opera couple in daytime history. According to Wikipedia, "Their successful union led to the romance being studied and featured within books, held up as an ideal paradigm for other fictional pairings and praised as one of the greatest love stories ever told." It was controversial and a huge tragedy when the writers decided to kill one of them off - Dixie.

Nash Brennan & Jessica Buchanan
It still breaks our heart and makes us get a little teary eyed just thinking about Nash's death and his final moments with his wife Jessica. A recurring theme in their romance was the drawing of a heart. When Nash drew a heart on her hand right before he died, it made everyone watching cry. Not to mention Jessica bringing in his baby daughter Bree to say goodbye to a little girl who he won't get to see grow up. Jessica and Nash had a large and devoted fan base and became a prominent couple on the show for three years.

Cole Thornhart & Starr Manning
Young love. We've all experienced it and can still remember just how intense it was. Starr and Cole became friends when he stuck up for her when a mean girl was teasing her. To get back at Starr for going to the school dance with Cole, Britney showed a video that mocked Starr by portraying all of her family problems. Once again Cole stuck up for her, and the two shared a kiss after the dance. After spending some time apart, they were reunited on prom night.

When Starr's father Todd decided to move his family to Hawaii, the two love birds decided to spend their last night together before her big move. They slept together for the first time, and shortly after Starr learned that she was pregnant. The couple is at odds; Starr wants Marcie to have the baby, and Cole wants to raise the baby with Starr.

Emily Quartermaine & Nikolas Cassadine
When Emily was battling cancer she didn't want Zander to find out so she asked Nikolas to help by pretending to be in love with her. Their "romance" blossomed, and their plan turned into an engagement. Emily's conditioned worsened, and Emily believed that Nikolas' love brought her back from the brink of death.

They were finally free to love each other when tragedy struck. Nikolas was in a car accident with head injuries, and Emily believed that he was killed and washed away in the river nearby. After a long search, Emily and Nikolas were finally reunited.

Since Nikolas was suffering from blackouts, Emily thought it was best to cancel the Black and White Ball. He disagreed, and they had the ball anyway. The happiness changed when the text message killer showed up, and Emily was found strangled to death.

Luke Spencer and Laura Webber
No soap opera couples list would be complete without mentioning Luke and Laura. Everyone remembers this couple and their big wedding, making them a signature super couple on the popular daytime drama.

Even though Luke raped Laura when he was drunk, she still fell in love with him. In spite of what Luke did, they became a very popular couple. On November 16, 1981, 30 million viewers turned in for the wedding of the century.

There are so many more popular couples in soap operas that we can go on forever. Here is a quick look at some couples from other popular soap operas: Days of our Lives: Sami & Lucas, Belle & Shawn, John & Marlena, Bo & Hope, Jack & Jennifer and Brady & Chloe.

And last, but not least, from As The World Turns: Luke and Noah. Referred to as "Nuke," they are notable for being one of American daytime television's first gay male couples. The duo made history on August 17, 2007, when the show featured the first-ever gay male kiss in American daytime. The following day, the clip was the most-watched video on YouTube. The kiss is now the one of the most viewed videos in the history of YouTube with over a million hits.

TV guide even named them one of television's top power couples and a super couple in Entertainment Weekly.